#23: Starlettos – High Heel Protectors from Australia

Do your high heels get stuck in the grass when you’re outdoors? If you’re one of our female listeners, you may want to check out Starlettos at your next outdoor event. This week I have Ilde Naismith-Beeley from Starlettos to talk about how she came up with this product, landed it at the Emmys and Oscars, and how the business has grown to where it is today.

 

Topics Discussed:

  • 03:40 – What is a Starletto?
  •  05:55 – First version and patent searches
  • 06:25 – Reinventing the product to get around patents
  • 07:00 – Growing trend of outdoor events and weddings
  • 07:30 – Patent process as a small business
  • 08:25 – Innovation patent vs product patent
  • 09:30 – The balance of innovation and market research
  • 10:00 – When should you patent your product?
  • 12:45 – Growing trend of manufacturing locally vs in Asia
  • 13:50 – Scaling the logistics and distribution operations
  • 14:25 – Decision to outsource fulfillment to a third-party
  • 17:05 – Growth of retail sales vs e-commerce sales
  • 18:25 – Is offline retail still a powerful channel in the future?
  • 20:50 – What’s an Australian country girl?
  • 21:55 – Marketing the concept and your product
  • 24:45 – Challenges of Google Adwords and your price point
  • 26:20 – How much social media do you actually need?
  • 27:20 – Facebook pages news feed changes
  • 30:35 – Difference between PR and marketing material
  • 32:05 – What is the value of hiring a PR firm?
  • 34:50 – How the big break never comes, instead it snowballs
  • 36:40 – The hype of overnight successes
  • 41:00 – Teaching your kids that there are multiple paths in life
  • 41:15 – Importance of finding a peer group and community

Mentions in the Episode:

 

Episode Length: 47:47

 

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